Popular NFT marketplace, Opensea is well on its way to becoming the Google of NFTs after acquiring the NFT aggregator Gem. Find out more below.
A Masterclass in Eliminating The Competition
NFT marketplace superpower, Opensea is planting itself firmly on the path to ruling the crypto space after acquiring Gem, a leading marketplace aggregator. The company announced this development in a blog post on its official website. However, it did not disclose the terms of the sale.
As a relatively new field grows to maturity, it is natural for industry heavyweights to emerge. These companies are the ones that will capture dominant shares of their market, and Opensea is well on its way to becoming just that.
The NFT aggregation space is relatively new, but the demand is rising day by day. And it’s easy to see why. NFT aggregation platforms allow NFT enthusiasts to purchase digital items from various collections and marketplaces in a single transaction, saving money that the person would have otherwise spent on “gas” fees that accompany every blockchain transaction.
In the absence of NFT aggregators, a person looking to purchase an NFT must do so directly from different marketplaces. These marketplaces usually offer different items depending on the blockchain they support, and a gas fee accompanies every transaction.
A culmination of all these fees would result in a very substantial sum, which is why NFT aggregator platforms such as Gem are so important. These platforms are an intelligent solution for avid traders as it saves them thousands of dollars in gas fees.
Opensea Is Controlling The Narrative
A report from the popular fintech newsletter Protocol claims that Opensea is the single largest generator of gas fees. The fees, on average, are $500 per transaction and anything below $100 is on the cheap end.
For this reason, NFT aggregator platforms are essential to the ecosystem because they help traders cut costs. In addition, aggregator platforms also allow users to browse for the best deals across various marketplaces and view analytics that would help shape their choices.
Gem is one of the biggest NFT aggregator platforms, with nearly 35,000 customers and a trading volume of over $500 million in the last month alone. Opensea has said that its acquisition of Gem will “invest in the future of the pro community”.
Gem will continue to operate under its brand as an independent product, which Opensea says will allow us to learn from Gem’s expertise and intuition about the advanced NFT community—and bring the best of Gem’s features to OpenSea.”
A Sign Of Good Things To Come
If anything, Opensea’s acquisition of Gem is indicative of the growth occurring within this nascent industry. It’s a sign of things to come in the future.
Consolidation and collaboration are already occurring, and early victors are emerging. Opensea is currently ahead of the pack, but surely other competitors are emerging from the shadows. One thing is sure, the future promises to be an exciting one.
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